Luke 2:8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” 15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
We tend to put a heavy emphasis on the lowly circumstances of Jesus' birth when we retell the Christmas story each year. Certainly that is appropriate because the Son of God humbled Himself in the Incarnation (and as Philippians 2 words) He "emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:5–8). Christ's entire life was marked by humiliation, as He moved from a manger in Bethlehem to life as a carpenter in Nazareth to His death on the cross. Yet this humiliation led finally to glory. God the Father exalted Jesus and "bestowed on him the name that is above every name" (vv. 9–11).
But for the most part, Christ’s glory was veiled by human flesh. There were a few examples where His deity shone forth strongly. The Mount of Transfiguration would be one time. Another time would be when the soldiers who came to arrest Jesus were so frightened that they fell on the ground in John 18:6. And there are other examples where His kingship and glory were fully declared. But this is one of those times where both humility and the glory of kingship shines through.
The humility is seen in that He revealed himself to shepherds. His kingship and glory are seen by the army of angels singing praises about him, and later by the gifts of the wise men. When His glory was revealed, they worshiped. And we too are called to seek Him and worship Him – not just at Christmas, but every day. The term “Coram Deo” was Latin meaning what? Living before the face of God. And even though Christ’s glory and Kingship continues to be veiled from us here below, we can seek Him, know Him, and worship Him. Today we are reminded that Jesus is a Servant and a King; a Servant-King who is exalted by God because He didn’t exalt Himself. Who is honored by God because He didn’t honor Himself. Let’s be like the shepherds and seek Him now.